B Riley Stock Surges On $160M Debt Facility From Oaktree Capital: Retail Sentiment Hits Year-High After 100% Gains In 5 Days

Shares of B. Riley Financial Inc (RILY) rocketed over 19% on Thursday after the company announced it has entered into a new $160 million senior secured debt facility provided by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and has retired Nomura Senior Secured Credit Facility.

The company said the term loan facility carries an interest rate equal to the three-month secured overnight financing rate plus 8.00%.

B. Riley has issued warrants to Oaktree to purchase an aggregate of 1.83 million common shares, representing approximately 6% of the outstanding common stock, at an exercise price of $5.14 per share.

The price represents a 20% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) before the issuance of the warrants. The warrants are exercisable for seven years from the issuance date.

B. Riley also highlighted that it utilized approximately $118 million to retire the outstanding debt under its Nomura Senior Secured Credit Agreement and the rest for working capital. This includes up to $35 million in respect of its portion of the loan and investment in the joint venture overseeing the liquidation of JOANN.

JOANN is a fabric and crafts retailer that is commencing store closing sales at all 790 locations nationwide.

Co-CEO Bryant Riley said the new three-year facility provides greater financial and strategic flexibility and allows the execution of several other initiatives.

“The successful bid in a competitive bankruptcy process showcases the potential of this business with the additional support and backing of Oaktree. B. Riley stands to benefit as an investor in the liquidation and indirectly through our equity stake in GA Group,” he said.

B. Riley will report its preliminary full-year 2024 results on March 3 after the closing bell.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment climbed further into the ‘extremely bullish’ territory (95/100) to hit a year-high mark. The move was accompanied by significant retail chatter.

According to Koyfin data, B. Riley shares have a short interest of 28.2%, which has created a buzz among Stocktwits users.

RILY shares have more than doubled in the last five days and are up over 47% in 2025.

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